


The Second Week

by Kirithwen



Series: The Worst Month [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Doctor!Cas, M/M, mechanic!Dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-07-10 20:38:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15957086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirithwen/pseuds/Kirithwen
Summary: Dean's worst month continues with a disastrous second week that finds him back in Castiel's ER...





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean is in need of a night out on the town. He goes on the pull with very unexpected results...

The Friday after Jo wound up in hospital, Dean could not wait for work to end. Generally, he liked his job as a mechanic but there were some days, like that Friday, when he felt the routine itching and burning under his skin. He wanted to travel, he wanted to know more than the one town he'd grown up in, he wanted to see the country, hell, he wanted to see the world. But he couldn't afford to and he wouldn't leave his family so he stayed, year after year. And when the wanderlust came a-knocking, Dean went a-drinking.

"Have a good weekend, man." He told Bobby, clapping him on the shoulder as he passed him. 

"You too. Take it easy, y'hear me?"

"Sure, sure." Dean waved him off as he made his way to his beloved 1967 Chevy Impala.

Dean made a quick pit stop at his apartment to change and leave his Baby safely at home. He made his way to the Roadhouse for a burger and a few beers. One of which he nearly choked on when a familiar hand grabbed him by the shoulder.

"So I hear this bump on Jo's head is your doing?" Ellen greeted Dean, ever the ferocious momma bear.  

"Ellen." Dean gasped. "I swear-" He wheezed between coughs. "I didn't mean to-" Ellen rubbed his back as he tried to clear his airway. "I would never-"

"Hush now, you just catch your breath.  I know you wouldn't hurt Jo on purpose. Accidents happen."

When Dean's eyes had stopped watering and his breathing had calmed, he began to talk to her again.

"So what was with that greeting then? If you know I'd never hurt Jo?"

"Ahh, I was just trying to put the wind up ya. Didn't mean for you to choke kiddo."

"Well, thanks for that." Dean deadpanned.

Ellen look at him properly, taking in his nice jeans and shirt.  
"Got a night out planned have we?"

"Yeah, thought I'd have a few, see who's about."

"Well, I got a bar to run but you just look after yourself and stay safe mister."

"Always am!" Dean replied with a wink that earned him an eye roll from the woman who was a second mother to him.

He didn't see Ellen again until he was leaving and she appeared from nowhere.  
"Trying to slip out without saying goodbye? Good luck with that on my watch."

Dean grinned at her, having the decency to look sheepish. "Bye Ellen."

"Bye to you too. You just take care of yourself, you hear me?"

"Yes ma'am!" Dean gave her a mock salute and she flicked his shoulder with the back of her hand. 

"Don't you sass me neither. Go on, get on with you.  Go enjoy yourself."

"Thanks Ellen." Dean swooped down on her and crushed her into a brief embrace which she returned. "You have a good night too." He wished her as he headed out the door. 

Dean had a drink in the next bar he came to but soon realised the nearly empty place meant he was a little early to start his night out. He nursed a beer and scrolled through his contacts, looking for someone he hadn't thought of to invite out. He hadn't even left the As when he spotted Ash's number sitting there. 

_Hey dude. How's it hanging?_ He quickly tapped out and zapped off into the atmosphere.  He continued scrolling and then began a game of poker on his phone as he waited to see if he would get a reply. As he sat there, he became aware of a very familiar, very suave suit at the bar.  The dark haired man turned and Dean recognised Crowley instantly. Dean's stomach flipped as their eyes met and he watched the surprise register on the other man's face.

"Dean! Of all the bars, in all the world, who'd put money on us both ending up in this one on the same night eh?" Crowley's fluid accent slid down Dean's spine and intimate memories of that gravelly voice sent goosebumps cascading across his skin. 

Dean hid his body's reaction to his ex with a perfectly schooled expression and a smooth retort. "It wouldn't surprise me Crowley, there's always some joker ready to make money from my misfortune."

Crowley splayed a hand over his own heart "Misfortune? You wound me."

"Well, I'd rather you than me." Dean replied flippantly but somehow a chord of truth slipped through. Their eyes met and Crowley held his gaze for a beat too long.  

"Well. That's not how I expected it to go, if I ever saw you again." Crowley murmured, dropping his flamboyant persona for sincerity. 

"No? What did you expect? One for the road and a quickie for old times' sake? In your dreams." Dean joked, trying to scrabble back towards something lighter in tone than where he feared the conversation was heading. 

Instead of going with it, Crowley just looked back at Dean, something sad in his eyes making him look older than Dean had ever seen him. Even a three day bender and the subsequent hangover hadn't made the Brit look this tired.

"As surprising as this is to me, and as allergic as I know you are to feelings, I think we have things to talk about you and I. Clear the air as it were." 

Dean scoffed and opened his mouth to deny, deny, deny but then Crowley spoke again, oh so softly as if he didn't even intend for Dean to hear it, not really and it stopped the younger man in his tracks. 

"It never occurred to me that we might BOTH need some closure."

Dean closed his mouth with a clack and downed his whiskey, sizing up Crowley warily. "Okay, fine, let's talk. How do you wanna do this?"

Crowley checked out the bar around them before looking Dean up and down in his own assessment.  Dean struggled not to flush under the weight of that gaze and his old fears of being found wanting. 

"Have you eaten? There's a nice fusion place around the corner and I would certainly prefer not to have to shout to be heard."

"I have eaten but you know me, I can always find room for dessert. As long as this fancy fusion place of yours does pie, I'm happy."

"Ugh, you heathen." Crowley grumbled, a hangover from an old argument. "Yes, fine, well come on then. Grab your coat love, you've pulled."

Crowley swanned off to the exit; leaving Dean to grab his leather jacket and trail after him, frowning at the uncomfortable conflict between the pull of the familiar and the desire to resist, hold back and keep his distance. Self preservation versus nostalgia. Even as Dean followed, he wasn't sure which one would come out on top.

Neither of them spoke outside of Crowley greeting the waitress and requesting the quieter corner.  He was obviously a regular as she knew him by name and quickly led them to the table in question. 

After Crowley had ordered himself a glass of wine and a beer for Dean, the mechanic broke their silence. 

"So what do you wanna say.  What do you wanna know." Dean said flatly, forcing himself to at least try to meet Crowley's eyes. 

He wound up focusing somewhere just below eye level on Crowley's left cheek. 

"I... regret the way in which things ended. I regret the way I handled it. And I wanted you to know that."

"Great, so now I know. You think some half-ass apology that don't actually include the word 'sorry' is magically gonna fix years of..." Dean trailed off, unwilling to put a name to the last three years of misery and hurt, a word that sounded suspiciously like heartbreak.  He looked away, glancing around to check that no one was paying any attention to him and any feelings he might be leaking around the place. "Whatever."

"Not whatever. You're right, I don't expect it to be a magic fix-it." Crowley agreed.  "But I am sorry." He added softly. 

The arrival of the waitress with their drinks bought Dean some time to process Crowley's words without giving away how flabbergasted he was. 

"I'll have the fusion salad with the sesame-garlic dressing please love. And my friend here would like to try the ginger-plum pie with white chocolate sauce."

Dean went from trying not to let on how thst apology had affected him to trying to cover up how Crowley's seemingly effortless authority still turned him on. His mouth watered at the very idea of that pie, he definitely did not need anymore temptation - especially not in the form of man-candy ex-lovers proving that they still knew what Dean wanted in the most commanding way possible in polite society.

"I'm not going to pretend that talking to you back then would have fixed anything. I think we both know I would have been on a hiding to nothing trying to Talk back then." Crowley fixed him with far-too-knowing look.  Dean squirmed uncomfortably and sullenly glared at the table until he realised that he was proving Crowley's point for him.

"Not wanting to analyse every single thing isn't a criminal offense you know. That just ain't how I am."

"I know that. I just meant that if we had been able to communicate better, it might have ended more... smoothly. Which would have been better, for both of us, I'm sure."

"Dude, talking don't fix shit. All it does it torture the people involved with how badly they are fucking each other up.

"Talking CAN fix things. But more than that, it lets you know what needs fixing so you can put the work in. Think of it like troubleshooting, or an initial assessment, if that helps."

Dean grunted at the simile.  As he considered it, Crowley continued. "We were drifting apart and I reacted to that poorly. As I said, I am sorry for that. I realised later that you are too loyal a person to deserve the jealousy I took out on you. I wish we had been able to part on better terms. I've had a lot of time to think about things Dean and whilst I don't think we worked as a couple, having you remain in my life in some form would have been... preferable."

"Shit, man, you're not dying are you?"

Crowley laughed loudly.  "I suppose some people think of it like that. I got married."

Dean's eyes widened in disbelief. "What? No way man, what are you doing here with me then? Ain't hanging out with exes kind of a no-go for married folks?"

"Like I said, I've had a lot of time to think and I regretted my behaviour almost as soon as our relationship ended. My husband knows that. You could say I've had unfinished business on my conscience since then. I am truly glad for the opportunity to clear this up. And I hope it helps you too."

"Pfft!" Dean waved it off. " Whatever man, I don't need help!" He smirked.

Crowley saw straight through Dean's bravado in a way that made Dean wish he was wearing armour. He became aware all of a sudden that he had reached his limit for this conversation.  
Luckily, Crowley let him off the hook. "Of course not" he replied easily and Dean began to breathe normally. 

"So how's being married going for you? Got him wrapped around your finger?" Dean changed the subject as fast as he could. 

Crowley's laughter filled the air around them. "I wish I could say that was the case but it's actually quite the opposite. He only has to look at me with those big blue eyes and I'm his bitch."

Dean laughed along with him. "Wow, sounds like you got it bad man." 

"That I do Winchester, that I do." Crowley tilted his head in acknowledgement.  

"Oh yeah? Tell me about this husband then?" 

"He's tall, gorgeous and intelligent. A total do-gooder. One of the top doctors at the hospital and doesn't even blink at the hours because it means he gets to help people. I am one very lucky son of a bitch."

"Sounds perfect." Dean replied, smirking to cover the stab of yearning he felt. He wasn't sure if he envied the love his ex had found or the husband for having Crowley so in love with him. Dean wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer so tipped back his beer in order to not look too closely at that thought.

"No such thing as perfect Dean, but he's pretty damn close. What about you? What are you up to these days?" Crowley swirled his wine as he asked the question Dean had been dreading. Deflect, deflect, deflect.

"Same old, same old I'm afraid. But Sammy got married too, they got a house and a baby on the way, the whole shebang. Real apple-pie life." The smile that lit up Dean's face was irrepressible. 

"I'd forgotten how deeply you love. I'm glad to see that hasn't changed."  
   
Dean floundered in the wake of those two short sentences. Crowley had spoken thoughtfully, as if unaware of how intimate a thing that was to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean's night out takes a turn for the worse...

Dean sent up a prayer of thanks to whatever deity was helping him navigate this evening when the waitress arrived with their food. 

The conversation turned to pleasantries and mutual friends as they began to eat, with Dean barely managing to conceal a moan at the incredible pie. The wine appeared to have gone to Crowley's head as he turned red. He tugged uncomfortably at his collar and seconds later he was gasping for air. 

"Crowley?" Dean asked, concerned. 

Crowley tried to stand, searching his pockets, only to fall to the floor. 

"Crowley!" Dean was quickly on his knees beside his ex. He ignored the commotion starting around them and continued patting down Crowley's pockets.

"Where is it? Come on, tell me you have it with you..." he muttered as Crowley's hand moved towards his breast pocket. Dean was quicker than him in this state and soon retrieved the epi-pen that Crowley had been reaching for. He popped the cap, checked which end the needle was and made sure not to cover the other end with his thumb, just in case, then slammed it hard against the other man's thigh. He took Crowley's flinch as confirmation that the needle had depressed correctly and ordered the waitress to call an ambulance. 

Dean held Crowley's hand as he struggled to breathe and tried to calm him. "You're gonna be okay man, you're gonna be just fine.  Just keep breathing yeah, slow and steady. Everything's gonna be fine, you're gonna be okay."  

"The ambulance is on its way." The waitress informed him. 

"Great, thank you. Can you please find out what kind of nuts were in his food? I don't know if they'll need to know that but just in case." 

"But, there aren't any nuts in the fusion salad." She said, confused. 

"Clearly there were tonight though so please could you go and ask what could have snuck in there?" Dean smiled with clenched teeth, fighting to be polite.

"Sorry, of course, I'll be right back."

He looked back to see that Crowley's breathing seemed to be easier and he smiled encouragingly at him.

It seemed an eternity until the ambulance arrived but eventually they did. Dean explained what happened and watched as they helped Crowley into the wheelchair they'd brought him. He rode with them in the ambulance, just to make sure Crowley would be okay. It seemed too cruel to abandon him to wait alone in a hospital. 

But whatever wait Dean had expected, was not to be. The paramedics had just wheeled Crowley into the ER and were checking him in at the desk, when the Hot Doctor who had treated Jo walked past. 

"Crowley?" He said, concern woven through his voice in a deep rumble. "Crowley, oh no, are you alright? What happened?"

"Reckon a restaurant fed him nuts, best I can tell." Dean supplied, and the Doctor looked at him then, tilting his head in confusion. 

Oh shit, thought Dean. Blue eyed doctor, this is his freaking husband. I gotta get out of here. 

Just before he could bolt for the door however the Doctor spoke again. 

"I'll have them page Cain. But don't worry, we'll take good care of you until he gets here. Nobody wants to face his wrath." The Doctor smiled and it transformed his face. If Dean were feeling melodramatic, he'd say it took his breath away for a moment. But that phrasing was way too close to a chick flick moment. 

The Doctor spoke the receptionist and Dean heard him ask them to page Dr Knight immediately.  He turned just as Dean patted Crowley's shoulder in reassurance and the Doctor fixed him with another intense look, his head set at a slight angle. 

"My apologies, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Dr Novak." He said as he proffered his hand, his gaze locked on Dean as if he were trying to see _through_ him. They shook as Dean tried some semblance of an explanation of the strange occurrences the led to him being there. 

"Dean. I'm, well, I... sort of know Crowley, well used to know, Crowley and we bumped into each other and went for a meal to catch up and well, it's obvious how that went coz we wound up here so yeah. That's it."

Dr Novak's mouth quirked slightly, amused at Dean's awkward fumbling. 

"I am also a friend of Crowley's. Or, rather, his husband."

"Yeah, Crowley said his hubby worked here. Guess it makes sense doctors would know each other right?" Dean rambled, very aware that he was still pinned by Novak's unblinking gaze.

Dr Hottie Novak looked slightly relieved that Dean knew Crowley was married.  Then something caught the doctor's attention and when Dean looked down, his hand was still on Crowley's shoulder as though he had completely forgotten it was there. He pulled it back sharply and took half a step back. Crowley rolled his eyes at Dean's behaviour and for a second, Dean considering flipping him off before remembering they were in a hospital and Crowley was the patient. 

"Could you two possibly tone down-" Crowley began to croak, giving Dean a very bad feeling about where that sentence was heading before he was interrupted.

"Crowley! What are you doing here? What on earth happened?!"

An older doctor with stunning blue eyes and distinguished grey hair tied back had entered and instantly homed in on his husband. 

"I'm fine darling." Crowley husked out, his voice gravelly and strained.

"Like Hell you are or you wouldn't be sitting in my ER." Cain growled. 

"Excuse me a moment." Dr Novak murmured as he slid away to speak with a nurse.

"Dean gave me my epi-pen. I'm okay." 

Cain looked to Dean then.

"Dean? DEAN Dean?" 

Oh shit. Meet the Husband: Take Two. Dean was struck by the unmistakable air of something wild and feral in the air of this doctor.

"Uh hi. I'm Dean. It's, uh, nice to meet you. Crowley's been singing your praises all night."  
He winced internally at using the phrase "all night". 

Except Dean had clearly mistaken something because Cain just laughed. 

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Or at least, I'm sure it will be once I am reassured that my husband isn't about to go into cardiac arrest."

"Cain, darling, I am fine."

Cain just looked at him sceptically.

"Or, in fact, I'm not. I'm in desperate need of TLC and you should take a week off to nurse me back to health."

Cain chuckled and smiled at his husband lovingly. "Should I indeed?"

A nurse across the room held up three fingers at them. Cain nodded. "Well, let's go see if we're spending that time here or at home. I'm sorry not to be more social Dean, we will have to meet properly another time."

"Sure, no problem." Dean agreed. Cain was already wheeling Crowley towards exam room 3 when Dean realised what he'd just agreed to. His eyes widened in horror. He needed to get out of here before he got himself into trouble. Except Dr Novak was back.  
"Would you like to wait for them?"  He asked. 

"Nah man, I wouldn't want to intrude."

"I'm sure it wouldn't be an imposition, you're Crowley's friend -"

"Dude, I'm Crowley's ex, I'm pretty sure I've outstayed my welcome."

"You're... oh. I, uh, I didn't realise you were... I see." Novak froze, then looked at Dean as though seeing him in a new light.

"What?" Dean demanded, recognising that look.

"Nothing, I apologise." Novak's Doctor-facade was back in place but Dean wasn't having it. The dude clearly had no issues with Cain and Crowley being married so it couldn't be the gay thing... Could it? 

"Well it's either nothing or it's something worth apologising for, so come on. Which one is it?"

"It is nothing in that it is nothing that I would allow to affect the way myself or my staff interact with you or any future care you may receive here. I was surprised but a personal reaction is inappropriate for my role and it won't happen again. Please accept my sincere apologies for being unprofessional." Pink flushed his cheeks and darkened as he spoke. His eyes darted everywhere except Dean's face, embarrassment clear.  

The redness in his cheeks made the blue of his eyes seem even brighter and Dean's brain ground to a halt around one thought: _Daaaaaamn, he's pretty when he blushes._

"Um, o-okay, sure. Apology." Dean's voice had deepened unexpectedly so he cleared his throat, wondering what the fuck was up with him. "Apology accepted."

It was only once Dean had stopped stuttering that Novak raised his eyes again but stopped short of so it eye contact. He seemed to focus somewhere around Dean's left ear. 

"Right. Well, I shall leave you to your evening then."

"Yeah, I'm sure you got plenty to do without, you know, babysitting random non-relations of patients aren't even your patients."

Dean cringed internally at his awkward phrasing but the doctor's face lit up in understanding. 

"That's why I couldn't place you as a patient. You were here recently as a relation, weren't you?" 

It was Dean's turn to go red now as he rubbed his neck, whether because he was flattered the hot doctor remembered him or because he was embarrassed about his last visit to the ER, he wasn't sure. 

"Yeah, uh, with Jo Harvelle... I, er, dropped a car on her head." He mumbled.

"Ah, yes, you were mechanics." Novak recalled.

"Yeah, sometimes we wear normal clothes too." Dean joked. He was remarkably glad to not be wearing his coveralls but that just reminded him that he was standing in the ER dressed up for a night out on the town. He knew he looked damn hot but being squeezed into his tightest clothes felt inappropriate somehow, in such a serious place. 

"Yes..." Novak's eyes flickered down across the clothes Dean had referred to. "Yes, I suppose you do." 

The Doctor straightened up then, as though catching himself, and snapped his gaze to Dean's. "It was nice to meet you again but I'm afraid I must check on my patients. Have a nice evening." "Uh, yeah, you too man." Dean barely had time to wonder what the fuck had happened to his legendary smoothness when the doctor strode off in a determind manner that left Dean staring after him. 

Huh. Dean was surprised to answer his own question with the realisation that he was developing a bit of a crush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and let me know what you think!


End file.
